Balloon Ascension

After the Civil War hot air balloon "barnstormers"
traveled around the country, demonstrating their aerial prowess
at local fairs and celebrations. Some even jumped from balloons
using parachutes. The Lincoln Daily Call on August 25,
1890, reported one such performance held at Lincoln:

"Cushman park had its full share of
visitors yesterday, the great attraction being Prof. Ten Broeck
and his monster baloon [sic], City of London. . . . At four Prof.
Ten Broeck had all things in readiness for his ascension and
shortly thereafter, amidst the cheers of the multitude, he went
sailing skyward in his balloon, every moment becoming to the
eyes of the spectators a mere speck. He reached an altitude of
about 6,000 feet before he began his descent, and would not have
done so then had it not been for the fact that the air was too
cold for him to venture further in his light raiment. But while
yet almost out of sight the professor loosened his parachute
and began to descend to earth, wobbling from side to side picking
his way, it seemed, to a favorable spot of alighting.

"As he began to near the earth the
crowd began to anticipate where he would strike the ground and
ran in wild excitement to their fancied spot only to find that
he was yet just a little ways farther on and away they would
go again, over fences, gardens and some favorite flower bed of
the suburban housewife, scaring chickens and cows, arousing dogs
and not a few irate Germans whose patches of cabbage and potatoes
had been ruthlessly trampled by the excited mob of followers.
Finally the professor struck terra firma about a mile and a half
southwest of the place from which he started and after lustily
cheering him the crowd wended back, some to pick their hats[,]
handkerchiefs and other articles dropped in their excited chase."

Professor Ten Broeck promised Lincolnites
another ascension from Cushman Park the following Sunday. However
the Call on September 1, 1890, reported that just before
the second attempt, "flames from the [balloon's] furnace
were forced through the chimney by a gust of wind, and into the
balloon they went, causing an instantaneous explosion" that
destroyed the City of London and temporarily ended Ten
Broeck's aerial career.